How do Soviet people live ?
City man gives impressions

of jampacked tour of USSR

By BERT WHYTE

Nobody can see “all there is
to see” in the Soviet Union in one
month, but John Hines, member
of the Vancouver painters’ union,
who returned from a 33-day visit
to the USSR this week, certainly
tried.

Hines flew to Moscow from
Montreal (via Paris, Brussels and
Pr=.ne). as a member of a Can-
adian trade wunion delegation
which had accepted an invitation
from Soviet labor to visit their
land and see how socialism works.

It would take many columns
to cover the bare outlines of the
delegation’s itinerary. But here
are some of the things Hines did
and saw, and the impressions he
brought back with him:

V In Moscow, after a few

days sight-seeing, Hinés was in-}.

vited to speak over the radio. ‘I
was worried because I had no
time to prepare a written script,”
he says. “But no one asked for
one, or thought it strange that
I spoke from notes only. There
was no-censorship whatever.’

His days in Moscow consisted
of “a mad dash from one place
to another,” said the Vancouver
painter, ticking off on his fingers
some of the places he had visited:
the Canadian embassy; two food
stores; a new apartment house;
the Palace of Labor; Dynamo
Electric Plant; the Metro; a rail-
waymen’s polyclinic; the new
Moscow University, with its -22,-
000 rooms; a three-dimensional
movie; a ride on one of the boats
on the Moscow Canal.

“But we found time for some
relaxation,” said Hines.- ‘One
evening we. went dancing, and I
found I could dance okay to the
Russian band. As a matter of
fact, it performed much like a
name dance band here, with the
bandleader and his boys putting
on skits and an MC cracking jokes
—against inefficiency in govern-
ment, too, if you please.

“One guy in the band says
he wanted to have something
or other, done. ‘Why don’t you
fill out an official form?’ asks
his stooge. ‘If I ‘wait for my
application to go through all

the red tape, I'll have a beard |

down to here.’ answers the
comic, sweeping his hand across
his knees,

“The Russians indulge in plen-
ty of this kind of satire against
inefficiency, and the government
encourages it, I was told. They
call it criticism and self-criticism:

V In Leningrad the Cana-
dians visited Smolny, headquar-
ters of Lenin and Stalin during
the 1917 Revolution, and were
taken to see the battle cruiser

CEU EE EEE

WEST END
COMMUNITY CLUB

CABARET
DANCE

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26

8:30 p.m.

ct

' FLOOR SHOW
REFRESHMENTS

‘RUSSIAN PEOPLE'S
HOME | :

600 Campbell Avenue

Tickets $1.00

(etme

Ti

“In Leningrad the Canadians visited Smolny, headquarters
of Lenin and Stalin during the 1917 Revolution, and were taken
to see battle cruiser Aurora that fired on the Winter Palace
(above) during those ‘ten days that shook the world.’

Aurora that fired on the Winter
Palace during those ‘ten days
that shook the world.”

Says Hines: “One of the most
pleasant memories I cherish is
of a visit to a Pioneer eamp
about 75 miles from Leningrad,
where I spoke to 1,100 children.”

V In Rostov’ the busy Can-
adians visited a circus (where
they were introduced), a kinder-
garten, an agricultural implement
plant, workers’ homes, a garment

Wageldrive
issue hits

CCL heads

TORONTO
Progressive delegates attending
the 12th annual convention of
the Canadian Congress of Labor
in Royal York Hotel here scored
a victory over .the- right-wing
leadership this week when they
obtained approval of the 900-
delegate convention to have a
weakly-worded resolution dealing
with CCL backing of wage-in-
crease demands referred back for
two.other stronger resolutions.
The resolutions committee had
proposed adoption of the weakest
of the resolutions dealing with
wage coordination. It merely call-
ed for “‘the CCL to support a
drive for a substantial wage in-
crease in all affiliated organiza-
tions.”
_ At the same time the resolu-
tions committee proposed non-
concurrence in two other resolu-
tions, one from IWA Local 1-217,

|| Vancouver, which called for ‘a

conference of all affiliated unions
early in 1953 to lay plans for a
coordinated wage and contract
policy and make preparations for
assisting Congress unions that
may’ be forced to take strike
action to win their demands”;
the other from the Marine Work-
ers and Boilermakers Union, Van-
couver, which asked that “this
convention go on record as favor-
ing united action of all unions at
the local level, regardless of af-
filiation, to meet and beat back
the attacks of big business.’

Stan Thornley of the Rubber
Makers and Bill Stewart of the
Marine Workers led the fight to
have the resolution referred back
“so that some teeth could be put
into it.’’ :

factory, and many other places.

“We drove from Rostov for
about two hours to reach the
Western Capital Coal Mine,”
says Hines. “Our drvier drove
like a Parisian taxi driver—by
horn. The mine, flooded by

the Germans during the war, iss,

“now back in full production.
We went underground and saw

how all operations are com- ©

pletely mechanized. There's
fluorescent lighting in all the
underground workings — have
we anything like that any-
where in North America?

“Women were working under-'

ground, but not at the coal face.
They handled lighter jobs, on con-
veyor belts, etc.”

V In Qdessa the delegates
longed for a rest. ‘‘We needed
it as much as the workers on
holidays,”” says Hines, ‘“‘but after
a swim, they had us on the go
again. It was a wonderful
swim, though—the Black Sea is
really black, and the water as
warm as soup. The girls wear

the latest style bathing suits, all

two-piece and plenty of Bikinis.
The men’ aren’t so fashionable,
most of them don cotton trunks,

“We visited the famous Aca-
demician Philato whose eye sur-
gery has restored sight to hun-
dreds of blind people. We met
patients on whom he had oper-
ated, : J

“We attended the ballet Don
Quixote, saw an agricultural ex-
hibition, visited the harbor and
talked to dock workers, inspected
a sanitorium — and were com-
pletely exhausted when we board-
ed the steamshrip Russia (a for-
mer trans-Atlantic liner) bound
for Yalta.’’

“That’s enough,” I said, “this
Story has to end somewhere.”

“Then end it by saying
this,” responded Hines, , ‘Dell
your readers that everywhere I
went the thing that impressed
me most. was the terrific en-
thusiasm of the Soviet people
for their Five-Year Plan. They
discuss it, support it, and work
for its speedy completion,
knowing from experience that
every advance they make in
production reflects itself in
more goods at lower prices for
themselves. Their slogans,
plastered on billboards, call for
peace to all the world, peace
So they can build their own
bright future. There’s no war
hysteria in the USSR — only
a deep confidence that peace
can preserved and a better >
life for all can be created.”’

.

*

pressing problems.

‘LPP and the CCF — all have stressed this need

| elected MLA’s—continues to repeat that no ses

daily with new court rulings against trade unions:

Calla

Fall Session |

of the |
egislature

NOW!

MANY organizations and ‘citizens in British
Columbia have voiced the need of an early ses
sion of the legislature to pass upon a vast volume |
of unfinished business left ever by the Johnson-
Anscomb Coalition
session of the last legislature. om
Sections of the labor press, the CCF. News,
Mine-Mill Union News, IWA Lumberworket:
Pacific Tribune and others, have all raised the
need of a session of the legislature to deal with
The B.C. Federation of
Labor, numerous. ratepayers’ organizations, the

from time to time.
Yet Premier W. A. C. Bennett, speaking. fot
the Socred cabinet—and excluding the opinion of

sion ts intended until early in 1953.
This, in spite of the fact that a mountain of

pressing unfinished business concerning the welfate |
of the people has piled up. To cite only a small

part of this unfinished business:
@ The B.C. Hospital Insurance Scheme:

@ The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration |

Act—which the bosses seek to cancel out almost

@ The Workmen’s Compensation Act.
e Reorganization of the Public Utilities Com:
mission. Mie: oii
THESE are only the most pressing problems —
affecting the security and wellbeing of thé
people. | In the field of taxation alone many

and bypassed by the final

changes are needed to ease the burdens of the |

“

people.

_ Yet Premier Bennett persists in declaring that

there is no need or hurry for the legislature tO
meet. In so doing his Social Credit cabinet 1S
abrogating the prerogative of parliament and the

right of the elected representatives of the people }

to say their say! a
What do you say? 1
Raise this issue in your organization, yout '

trade union, your constituency organization. De-

mand a fall session of the legislature. Tel:

Premier Bennett that with all due respect to his

opinion on the matter, you as a British Columbia

citizen want the legislature to meet—now!

‘ Clip the coupon between dotted lines and mail it to
Hon. W. A. C.. Bennett, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B-C-

= _—_

Dear Mr. Premier: :

The volume of ‘unfinished business affecting the people of
this province, is such that (I) (We) believe a session of the
legislature is necessary NOW, and that delay until 1953 will

be most harmful to the people and prosperity of our provine® | _

{

If an organization or trade union, state identity:. .. fe 2 tee

SoS Meg Ra SEAT re pPRe S788. 8 Mle ie, se feels Ala WoaetieW texeaie lust vlls, bites! otaxe wim Vetere

THIS ADVERTISEMENT INSERTED BY THE _

B.C.YUKON COMMITTEE, LABOR-PROGRESSIVE PARTY | —

PACIFIC TRIBUNE —

SEPTEMBER 26, 1952 — PAGE 6 —

} i)

¥